I often watch movies and think of the actors or actresses, “They are the same age as me.” Then I think about other movies I’ve seen them in and realize that the movie I’m thinking of is 20-something years old… And that makes me feel old.
I was watching Argo the other night and was really impressed with Ben Affleck. He has matured as an actor and has become a wonderful director/producer. I remember him as the tough Boston kid who played opposite his best friend, Matt Damon, in the award-winning movie Good Will Hunting.
It got me to thinking about other young actors and actresses who I grew up watching as a teenager, who grew up before my eyes, first playing kids themselves and now playing more adult roles in more adult movies.
For example, who remember the tubby Jerry O’Connell in Stand by Me? He went from tubby to hot and is now he is playing more adult roles. Ben Affleck, played a tough working kid in Good Will Hunting and in Argo, he played a father and husband. John Cusack went from playing a teen in love in Say Anything to playing Edgar Allen Poe in The Raven. Molly Ringwald played a teen in love with the popular guy in Sixteen Candles and now she plays a mother in The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Robert Downey Jr. played drug-loving Julian in Less Than Zero to a Marvel superhero in IronMan. Marisa Tomei went from playing a college student in A Different World to playing a mother in the heartwarming movie Parental Guidance. Julia Roberts went from playing bass in a band in Satisfaction to playing a divorcee looking for a new meaning to her life in Eat Pray Love. Leonardo Dicaprio went from playing a mentally disabled kid in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape to playing the dapper Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. Drew Barrymore went from the cute kid in E.T. to playing a kick-ass “Angel” in Charlie’s Angels.
Photo Source: IMDb / Pinterest
Again, I could probably list several more teen heart-throbs and teen-queens of the 80s and 90s who have gone on to become successes… Rob Lowe, Alyssa Milano, Neil Patrick Harris, Emilio Estevez, Reese Witherspoon, Jon Cryer, Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Michael J. Fox, Chris O’Donnell, Elizabeth Shue, Brooke Shields, and I could probably go on…
Which teen queen or heart-throb from the 80s and 90s were your favorites? I’d love to hear from you!
Have a great day!
